The invention relates to an unloading system and a method for unloading a tire tread carrier.
The Chinese utility model CN 202895712 U discloses a tread feeding system. The system is provided with a multi-leaf trolley positioning device, a multi-leaf trolley opening device controllable to open the leaf plates of the multi-leaf trolley one by one so as to pick the tread, a tread carrying device for moving the tread from the multi-leaf trolley to a tread overturning device and a tread overturning device for overturning the tread upside down.
The multi-leaf trolley comprises three groups of wheels, including a front wheel and a rear wheel, which are uniformly placed on the factory floor for providing mobility to the multi-leaf trolley. The multi-leaf trolley positioning device comprises a horizontal adjustment mechanism with a wedge block that is adjustable in height to lock the front wheel in place and a pushing plate that is urged by a pushing cylinder to support the rear wheel. According to the description of the Chinese utility model, the aforementioned horizontal adjustment mechanism is arranged for ensuring that the three groups of wheels are subjected to uniform force, such that the front and the rear end of the multi-leaf trolley can be maintained horizontal. Upon entry of the multi-leaf trolley, the horizontal adjustment mechanism is required to be flush with the factory floor, thereby making the system vulnerable to dirt entering and blocking the complex system.
The multi-leaf opening device comprises an upright rod fixed to the factory floor next to the multi-leaf trolley and a lifting lever which can be moved up and down along the upright rod to lift the leaf. According to the description of the Chinese utility model, the multi-leaf trolley opening device occupies little space and is particularly suitable for situations in which a large number of parts are arranged and space is not enough, such as in an integrated forming machine. It is noted however that the upright rod hinders the tread carrier device when approaching and accessing the multi-leaf trolley. Also, the fixed position of the upright rod does not allow for flexibility in handling multi-leaf trolleys with different dimensions.
The tread overturning device comprises a tread bearing bracket for receiving the tread transferred by the tread carrying device, a overturning row and a clamping row for in mutual cooperation clamping and rotating the tread. The overturning row and the clamping row are driven synchronously to maintain a clamping pressure so as to prevent the tread from being thrown away. The overturning row is driven by a rotating shaft and the clamping row is driven by a separate gear which is rotatably sleeved on the rotating shaft. The clamping can deform the tread during overturning and furthermore, the complex overturning system is prone to malfunctions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative unloading system and method for unloading a tire tread carrier, which at least partially solves one or more of the abovementioned drawbacks of the prior art.